Faculty and Staff Gym

Cool Down

Previously, we told you the importance of warming up, but the post workout cool down is something that must not be forgotten either. Cooling down is necessary to avoid injury by restoring the body to its pre workout state.

Post workout soreness can be avoided by cooling down. By slowly restoring the body to resting state, lactic acids and others toxins that build up in the muscles during workout have the chance to be flushed out of the muscles during a cool down.

How to cool down

Five to 10 minutes of low intensity exercise followed by stretching can help you avoid the most workout soreness and fatigue.

Low intensity exercise- if you were engaging in moderate or high intensity aerobic activity during your exercise; reduce the speed or intensity of that activity for several minutes to allow for a cool down period. So if you were running or biking, slowly reduce your pace until you feel your heart rate has returned to normal.

If you were lifting weights, hop on a bike or treadmill for a few minutes and perform light aerobic exercise. Even though your workout may not have substantially increased your heart rate or maintained your heart rate at a high level, this type of light aerobic movement will aid in flushing out toxins thus reducing muscle soreness.

You’re not done yet. After the aerobic cool down its time to stretch!

During exercise, muscles are constantly contracting when lifting weights or performing high intensity aerobic exercise. Stretching the muscles once they are warm helps restore range of motion and reduce soreness.

Each stretch should be held for 30 to 60 seconds and should not cause pain or discomfort. Be sure to stretch all muscles, not just the ones you focused on during your workout.

You’re muscles should be feeling a lot better now, just make sure you stay hydrated!